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ST. GEORGE — The last of three defendants in a kidnapping-turned-murder case was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for her role in the 2016 death of David Heisler.
According to a statement from Heisler’s now 9-year-old daughter, Mariah, that was read in court by her grandmother Debbie Heisler, the child returned home from a trip to find what was later determined to be her father’s blood in his room and other parts of the house.
“I am mad at Mommy because she killed my daddy. My daddy was the best,” the girl wrote. “If I could be the judge, I’d say to Mommy, ‘You have to go to jail and die in jail.’”
Mariah also wrote she sometimes felt it was her fault for what happened to her father and that she has nightmares of people coming to her home and hurting her like they did her father.
“I’m still pretty sad. We visit the cemetery all the time and bring flowers and cards,” Mariah’s letter continued, “but guess what — I don’t have my daddy. Why don’t I have my daddy? Because my mommy killed my daddy.”
As the letter neared its conclusion, the girl asked the judge to deliver the following to her mother: “I hate you for life.”